New to site – Help!

Hiyya Dan,

Geez, you don't mess around dropping the big bomb questions do you?

I guess the question for you is: What do you want from an investment property? Getting your head around this question will help you to begin to focus on how to go about looking for and buying one. For instance, for our first IP we wanted a property that could be subdivided and developed down the track and this helped us frame not only our searches and research but also our approaches to brokers and our accountant as well.

Personally I would have a think with your partner about what it is you want from an IP and why you want it and then have a look around the forum for some archived posts (use the search feature) or ask some more specific questions. This will help you to focus the questions you could then take to your financial team (broker, accountant etc).

Now, specifically addressing your question above here are my thoughts (and feel free any other forum members to add your thoughts here) …

1) A Broker will generally help you to find the best loan product for your circumstances (including drawing equity from your unit). They will also help you to work out how much a lender will be prepared to lend you (this will help to focus your IP search in terms of cost). They are generally pretty good at helping you to understand the loan market and the jargon and may very well be a good first port of call providing their services are obligation and cost free (most brokers get their fee from the lender once your loan has been approved so it costs you nothing from your pocket).

2) Your Accountant is an invaluable resource when figuring out how investments fit into your financial/tax structure. They will help you to understand what tax implications your investments have and how best to organise yourself in these terms. I'm no expert but I would think that unless you're nearing retirement your accountant would most likely say 'An investment property? Go for it. Just make sure you set yourself up like this…' Personally we have a sit down (or an email conversation) with our accountant before every significant financial decision just to make sure we're not walking into a minefield.

3) Generally speaking Financial Advisers are stock market oriented and are great to talk to if you're looking for a managed fund or the like but not so useful when looking for an IP. We have only ever consulted a financial adviser when looking to buy stocks.

Dan, I encourage you to do lots of research and ask lots of questions. This forum is a great place to do that because there are lots of people with good experience here and you can ask any questions without feeling as though you're asking something 'dumb' (after all, it's probably something we've all wondered at some stage) but always, always consult professionals before making any big moves.

Best of luck,
Art

Good post Art